V. I. Lenin

Answers To Questions Put By A Chicago Daily News Correspondent[1]

Interviewed:5 October, 1919First Published:Chicago Daily News No. 257, October 27, 1919; First published in Russian in 1942; Published according to the newspaper textSource:Lenin’sCollected Works, 4th English Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, Volume 30, pages 50-51Translated:George HannaTranscription/HTML Markup:David Walters & Robert CymbalaCopyleft:V. I. Lenin Internet Archive (www.marx.org) 2002. Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute this document under the terms of theGNU Free Documentation License

October 5, 1919

I beg to apologise for my bad English. I am glad to answer your
    few questions.

1.What is the present policy of the Soviet Government on
    the question of peace?

2.What, in general outline, are the peace terms put forward by
    Soviet Russia?

Our peace policy is the former, that is, we have accepted the
    peace proposition of Mr. Bullitt.[2]We have never changed
    our peace conditions (question 2), which are formulated with
    Mr. Bullitt.

We have many times officially proposed peace to the Entente
    before coming of Mr. Builitt.

3. Is the Soviet Government prepared to guarantee absolute
    nonintervention in the internal affairs of foreign
    states?

We are willing to guarantee it.

4. Is the Soviet Government prepared to prove that it
    represents the majority of the Russian people?

Yes, the Soviet Government is the most democratic goverrunent
    of all governments in the world. We are willing to prove it.

5. What is the position of the Soviet Government in respect
    of an economic understanding with America?

We are decidedly for an economic understanding with
    America—With all con utries butespeciallywith
    America.

If necessary we can give you the full text of our peace
    conditions as formulated by our government with Mr. Bnllitt.

Wl. Oulianoff (N. Lenin)

[1]TheChicago Daily Newscorrrespondent I. Levin, who was
    in Soviet Russia, asked Lenin to answer five questions. The
    questions and Lenin’s answers were published in theChicago Daily NewsNo. 257, October 27, 1919.

[2]Lenin refers to peace talks with William Bullitt who came to
    Soviet Russia in March 1919 to discuss the possible terms of peace
    treaties between Soviet Russia and the Allies, and the whiteguard
    govern-ments then existing on the territory of Russia. Bullitt
    submitted the proposals put forward by President Woodrow Wilson
    and Prime Minister Lloyd George.

Guided by the desire to conclude peace as soon
    as possible, the Soviet Government agreed to negotiate, and
    introduced a number of amendments and addenda to the proposals put
    forward by the U.S.A. and Britain, after which a final joint draft
    was prepared.

Soon after Bullitt’s departure from
      Soviet Russia Koichak’s
      army launched an offensive, and the imperialist governments
      refused to accept the Soviet proposals in the hope that Soviet
      Russia would be defeated. Wilson prohibited the publication of
      the draft agreement brought by Bullitt, and Lloyd George
      announced in Parliament that he had not authorised anyone to
      negotiate with the
      Soviet Government.